Articles. A few things I noticed.

[DarkeWolf]

Ok, so I did something new today. I wrote my very first article. Something that I'd been planning to do for quite some time now, but had just never "gotten around to it".

I must say, that this is a cool feature for the boards, and definitely thank you for giving us this option.

 

Theres a couple of things about the experience that I would like to make mention of, that were... peculiar.

The first was the default spacing of the text entry box. I'd typed my article out beforehand in notepad, and used a CnP into the text box. I did a quick run through to make sure that everything was there, and submitted my article.

 

On reading it after posting, my line spacing was ALL messed up. Sentences were broken up where they weren't intended to be, there were additional spacing between the lines, and it made my article very difficult to follow.

I remember that I was told that a person can edit their article. So, cool, I'll go edit this mess to see what I can do to fix it.

2nd Problem. The edit function wasn't where a person would normally look for it, right there with the article. After a few minutes of searching, I Accidentally came across a link on danexus.com that said Manage Articles, hopefully, I clicked on it, and finally found my edit button.

 

So, after my current experience I'd like to ask these two things.

Could the default size of the text box be set to the usual sized text box like I'm typing in right now?

Could an Edit button be added to the page where the article sits, so that somebody like me, who's never done it before, could find that function easier?

Also, when I had originally pasted my text into that narrow text box, I had afterwards expanded it's width, thinking that would make the text look ok when I posted it. I was surprised by how it turned out. I dont know much about website scripting but was wondering if the function could be added to automatically space out the text to fit the new box size? Rather than having to go back and manually edit the entire blocks of text with backspacing, deleting, and spacing so that it fits?

 

Thanks for the time to read, and again, thanks for the option to write the article. :thumbsup:

-DW

[LHammonds]

I think the spacing issue you are talking about is due to having "Wrap" turned on in Notepad because a Copy/Paste will retain those line breaks in the article. Always turn off Wrap just before you copy/paste to avoid this problem.

 

Another tip: Go to the forums and start a new topic (but don't ever post/submit the topic). Put your text in there and use the PREVIEW to get everything the way you want it. Then copy/paste the text from there into your Article...then abandon / back out of the new topic since you don't need the editor any more.

 

Another tip: Not all the BBCode on the forums are supported on the Nexus sites. Here is an article that shows what can be used: http://www.tesnexus.com/articles/article.php?id=251

 

Another tip: Always place your article in multiple places. The wiki page for the editor is usually the best place to have articles and the wiki format is usually the better method for tutorials anyway. For example...I create tutorials initially in a plain old text file and then create a copy on my web site (in HTML) and then translate the formatting to BBCode here on the Nexus...then I translate the code to wiki format to post on the CS Wiki. Once you have your tutorial in Text, HTML, BBCode and Wiki, you can post that article just about anywhere on the net.

 

NOTE: As an admin, I actually get a pull-down menu to edit my articles directly (among other things) just like the feature you are looking for. Except I can do this with any article. We had this exact same ability with the mod upload pages and after a while, Dark0ne made changes where it became visible to members as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he already has this on his list of things to do.

 

LHammonds

 

PS - Congrats on the 1st of many articles to come! (wink)

[DarkeWolf]

Interesting. Yeah, I'll have to make sure to turn off word wrap before copying. Thanks for the tip!

 

Ok, I know that you're very busy, and hate to bother you with questions. But...which wiki are you referring to? There's so many, lol.

I do agree tho. Having your info in multiple sources is always a good thing. Especially in the modern age with interenet troubles. Or because sites have to be taken offline to make server updates.

 

Well, Dark0ne has a very, very full plate, I am sure. Not only with the proposed new site(s) but with real life affairs. I won't try to sound like I'm being demanding about it or anything. I just thought it a recommendation that I thought worth mentioning. :wink: And considering that not many choose to UTILIZE the feature we're given, I could definitely understand if it's put on a low priority level, in comparison to some of the bigger things that Need to be taken care of, or the larger projects in the works. That is of course, in his spare time. His real life obviously needs to come first :wink:

 

Thank you for the congratulations. :biggrin:

I'm hoping that it can be helpful to some of the folks that are having problems installing that particular type of mod.

I do have a few more planned out to try to help folks out with some of the other problems that we get hit with quite often in the DA forums.

 

Thanks for the information and the input. I DO appreciate it LH.

And while I may not always seem like it, I really DO appreciate all the time and effort that you, the rest of the staff, and Dark0ne have put into these forums. I problably wouldnt know even 1/4 of what I know about this game, if it wasnt for you folks and your efforts.

[LHammonds]

which wiki are you referring to?

For Oblivion, I am talking about the Construction Set Wiki

For other games that have construction set tools, I am sure they have equivalent community sites. You can find the Oblivion wiki by clicking the Help menu item from directly within the Construction Set itself. I believe the GECK is the same way. I have zero experience with Dragon Age but would not be surprised if you get to the correct wiki site from withing its modding tool.

 

Thank you for the congratulations. :biggrin:

You're welcome!

 

I do have a few more planned out to try to help folks out with some of the other problems that we get hit with quite often in the DA forums.

Great to hear. I'm sure there will be many others that will value your tutorials.

 

Thanks for the information and the input. I DO appreciate it LH.

You're welcome!

 

LHammonds